BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Declaring “a whole new ball game,” Ohio Republican John Kasich’s presidential campaign is looking to its future after he scored a key home-state win against billionaire businessman Donald Trump.
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The two-term governor won all 66 delegates in the winner-take-all primary on Tuesday and ended the evening as one of only three remaining GOP contenders in the once vast field.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, won the swing state’s Democratic nomination from rival Bernie Sanders, despite the Vermont senator’s last-minute campaign push in the state.
Close races in both parties brought out voters in near record numbers. The 41.5 percent turnout was the second highest for a primary election, according to the Office of Secretary of State Jon Husted. The record was the 46 percent set in the 2008 Presidential Primary.
Over 3.1 million Ohioans cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, Husted’s office said.
For Kasich, Tuesday’s victory marked his first state win and a crucial signal of his durability into the next phase of the contest.
His position was improved further as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suspended his campaign after a loss to Trump in his home state.
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The two-term governor told supporters Tuesday that his job is to represent all Americans. He said he “will not take the low road to the highest office in the land.”
Kasich entered the GOP presidential race as an underdog but surged to prominence after he secured second place in New Hampshire’s primary last month.